1010When Life Is ToughWhen Life Is Tough

QuotesQuotes

“The brick walls are there for a reason.  The brick walls are not there to keep us

out.  The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want

something.  Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want

it badly enough.  They’re there to stop the other people.” –Randy Pausch

1

1.  Accepting Life’s ChallengesDo something extraordinary.  Accept life’s opportunities.  Realize that if you neverstep up to a challenge that’s a bit over your head, you’ll never know how tall youtruly are.  Rise to each challenge and continue adding value to the ever-growingpossibilities that await your brilliance.

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”  –Beverly Sills

2

2.  Working HardWhen you’re young you fanaticize about a hammer of creativity, a pliers of efficiency, a saw of wisdom etc. But then you grow up and you realize that everyone is working with the same set of old tools – desire, commitment, honesty, kindness, love, persistence, etc.  And as flawed andbent as they may be, they work wonders against the odds when you truly put them to the test.  

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”  –J.K. Rowling

3

3.  Choosing WiselyLife is ticking away every second.  The worst thing is spending your entire life drowning slowlyand not being able to convince yourself that you are in full control, and that you can easily saveyourself by simply standing up. This is your life, made up entirely of your choices, your actions,your thoughts, etc.  Someday you will either decide to save yourself or remain unsaved forever.

““That which does not kill us makes us That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”  –Friedrich Nietzschestronger.”  –Friedrich Nietzsche

4

4.  Growing from ProblemsWhen times are good and everything is comfortably in order, it’s easy to become complacent and forget how skillful and resourceful you are capable of being. Troubled times are necessary evils that push you forward, because they eventuallyend, and the lessons and strengths you gain from them last a lifetime.

“Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing feels better right now.” 

–Veronica Roth

5

5.  Laughing it OffDo what you need to do, but don’t take yourself too seriously.  Laugh whenever youcan because you can.  There’s honestly nothing like deep breaths after a good chuckle – nothing in the whole wide world like a sore tummy and cheeks for all theright reasons.

“I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes

you except yourself.”  –Rita Mae Brown

6

6.  Staying True to YourselfTo make a positive difference in your life you must sometimes be different and take the road less traveled.  Just because everyone is heading in a one direction doesn’t mean you must go that way too.  On the contrary, it’s a valuable opportunity for youto step aside and figure out where you truly want to go.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty

of their dreams.”  –Eleanor Roosevelt

7

7.  Fighting for Your DreamsWhen things don’t go right, it doesn’t mean you have to go wrong along with them.Continue putting forth even the smallest efforts to sustain your dreams.  Accept thefact that if you fight through the challenges, there is always a chance you might lose, but if you do not fight at all, you have already lost.  

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things

that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the

bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds

in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.”  –H. Jackson Brown Jr.

8

8.  Deciding to ChangeIf you’re not where you want to be right now, take the time to visualize yourself in theplace you want to be and take the first step in that direction.  You may not be able to change your destination in a day, but you can change your direction right now. Keep moving along this new path and it will eventually lead you to your destination.

“It’s being here now that’s important.  There’s no past and there’s no future.  Time is a very misleading thing.  All there is ever, is the now.  We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it;

and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.”  –George Harrison

9

9.  Being PresentMake your time count.  Don’t let it slip by without being aware of it.  Life works in a strangeway:  You want something and you work and wait and feel like it’s taking forever to come.  Then it happens and it’s over and all you want to do is relive all the great memories you made along the way. Happiness is the journey.  Open your eyes.  Don’t miss it.  

““Keep your face always toward the Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind sunshine, and shadows will fall behind

you.”  –Walt Whitmanyou.”  –Walt Whitman

10

10.  Being ThankfulHappiness is valuing what you have, and enjoying the people, places, objects and eventsin your life for what they are.  It’s not about changing and achieving all the time, it’s aboutbeing and appreciating.  And you can nearly always enjoy the things happening around you if you make up your mind firmly that you will.

Thank You Very MuchSompong Yusoontorn